1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tools and devices used in aligning various components to one another, and particularly to a telescopic sight ring mounts alignment tool for aligning the front and rear clamping rings of a telescopic sight with one another and with the bore of the barrel of the firearm to which they are affixed.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention relates to an alignment tool used to install and align the ring mounts, which hold a telescopic sight such that they align with the centerline of a firearm barrel before the telescopic sight is mounted to the firearm.
When using a firearm with a telescopic sight, it is important that the telescopic sight be aligned with the centerline of the barrel corresponding to the bore of the barrel to enable a shooter to place a projectile at a selected point in the distance, such as when shooting at an animal or target.
Tools are known for aligning the rear and front ring mounts which hold a telescopic sight onto a rifle, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,131, which discloses a pair of telescopic sight ring mount aligning bars. Each bar has a planar circular end bounded by a circular peripheral edge. Misalignment of the telescopic sight mounting rings is determined by a misalignment of the peripheral edges relative to one another and by a non-parallelism between the two inner ends. U.S. Pat. No. 7,313,885 describes another alignment device for telescopic sight ring mounts, wherein two rods are mounted in the telescopic sight rings and alignment is achieved by aligning the female end of one rod to the male end of another rod when the two rods are slidably engaged. Both of these inventions require two rods, which must be aligned to achieve alignment of the telescopic sight rings. Neither of these inventions provides a mechanism for aligning the telescopic sight rings with the centerline of the barrel.
The present invention is a significant improvement over these known devices by providing a one-piece rod that has a tapered forward tip for aligning the ring mounts. Accurate alignment of the ring mounts is checked by determining whether the tapered forward tip is aligned with the centerline of the barrel. The present invention is easy to use and provides a visual indication whether the front and rear ring mounts are aligned with the longitudinal centerline of the barrel corresponding to the bore of the barrel.
Thus, a telescopic sight ring mounts alignment tool solving the aforementioned problems is desired.